Cell kinetics of hepatic metastases as a prognostic marker in patients with advanced colorectal carcinoma.
Cell kinetics was determined, as 3H-thymidine labeling index (LI), in hepatic lesions from 36 patients with primary colorectal carcinoma: LI values ranged from 0.9% to 23.5% and were normally distributed. Cell kinetics was not related to sex or age of the patient, or to liver function. For clinical studies the median LI value of 10% was used to separate slowly and rapidly proliferating lesions. Univariate analysis showed that patients radically resected and with a low LI tumor have a longer disease-free interval and a better probability of 12-month survival than those non-radically resected and with a high LI tumor. When treatment and cell kinetics were taken into consideration, the probability of 12-month survival was 100% for patients with slowly proliferating and radically resected hepatic metastases. Patients with rapidly proliferating tumors, regardless of type of treatment, had the worst prognosis.
Silvestrini
R
R
Experimental Oncology C, Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, Milan, Italy.
Costa
A
A
Gennari
L
L
Doci
R
R
Bombardieri
E
E
Bombelli
L
L
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002453:Cell Cycle; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured